Rihanna's "Rated R" Album Review

I have long been a fan of Rihanna's music, long before she cut off her hair and became more known for being a fashion icon than her music. Each of her albums has had great songs I can listen to over and over. For example, some of my favorites from past albums are:

"Music of the Sun"- Pon de Replay, You Don't Love Me, Willing to Wait, Let Me, If it's Lovin You Want

"Girl Like Me"- SOS, Unfaithful, We Ride, Break it Off

"Good Girl Gone Bad"- Umbrella, Please Don't Stop the Music, Shut Up and Drive, Hate that I Love You, Rehab, Disturbia, Take a Bow

So I was pretty disappointed the first time I heard all of "Rated R." Her overrall tone has changed from her other albums, first obviously because of her recent personal drama, but also I think she is trying to match her music with that crazy/funky hair style and dress style- and its not working. Here is what I think of the CD:

1. Mad House- just an intro

2. Wait Your Turn- good beat, but the lyrics are kinda dumb and ruin it ("Fumble don't you fumble
That's a flag on the play. Babe if you don't wanna, then you don't have to wait")

3. Hard- good song, only because Jeezy is on it, but it doesnt have 'hit' quality

4. Stupid in Love- this song clearly tackles the Chris Brown drama head on, surprised at how personal it got (complains about being a size 10, mentions how he had blood on his hands, and even name drops and states she got love advice from friend Katy Perry), but again, the lyrics are a bit immature ("trying to make this work, but you act like a jerk"). I guess I was expecting a little deeper song writing. And I dont understand "I may be dumb but i'm not stupid" what is the difference?

5. Rockstar- pretty decent, don't hate it, but don't love it either. its the standard- 'I have money, I go to clubs, I'm awesome' theme that every hip hop artist must sing about.

6. Russian Roulette- I do like this song, its different and has a good beat. But would I just listen to it on my own, driving in the car, or cleaning my house, and sing along? Not really.

7. Firebomb- this song is growing on me. Don't quite understand the lyrics, but the beat and the way she sings on it makes it worth listening to. Its a different, unique sound. Overall- I like it.

8. Rude Boy- the lyrics are a bit too sexual and graphic I think, but the beat is good and the song is kinda fun to listen to. But again, not 'hit' material in my eyes.

9. Photographs. *****THIS IS IT!!!!***** I was waiting to 'love' a song on this album, and I f'n LOVE this song. Keep listening to it over and over. Her voice is great on it- just simple, not trying to hit crazy notes or play up her accent, and I love Will.I.Am on it, and the beat is just awesome. It's a really different song for her to do, the sound is not hip hop or r&b- in fact if you listen closely, especially towards the end, the beat sounds like something off an Air or Massive Attack Album. Really cool. And the funny thing is, I've read a couple of reviews online and no one mentions this song when listing their favorites. I have a feeling this is just a "farheen song"- just like when I heard T.I's "Paper Trail" I fell in love with "Porn Star" - a song that wasn't made into a single and one that most people probably just passed over. Well, I love Photographs- best song on the album in my opinion.

10. G4L- the beat is ok, just not really into singing along to "gangsta for life, we got our motherfucking guns in the air"

11. Te Amo. oh god, this song is awful. I dislike this song just like I disliked Madonna's "La Isla Bonita" Rihanna sounds better sticking to her Barbados roots- like in "Pon de Replay," leave 'te amo' to Shakira. Plus, I dont even get what this song is about.

12. Cold Case Love. blah, another awful song. Obviously this is another ode to Chris Brown, but the metaphor is just awful: "We opened up a cold case love. And it got the best of us. And now prints, pictures & white outlines. Are all that’s left at the scene of a crime"

13. The Last Song. nothing special. only listened to it once.

In conclusion, I was expecting a lot more out of Rihanna, just judging from her past music, and now she is much more popular and has more money to get better producers and song writers. Actually, I was expecting what Britney did after her meltdown drama- come back with a GREAT, fun album like "Circus" I dance to and enjoy almost every single song on that CD.

Well Rihanna is really young and hopefully will come back with something better next time.